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No. 13 Miami Slugs Out 7-5 Win vs. Baseball
May 02, 2009 | Baseball
May 2, 2009
BROCKTON, Mass. - No. 13 Miami hit five home runs in the fourth and fifth innings and got all the runs they would need in those two frames to beat the Boston College baseball team, 7-5, on Saturday night at Campanelli Stadium.
The Hurricanes (31-15, 15-11 ACC) hit three-straight home runs in the fourth inning for four runs and then went back-to-back again in the fifth for three more. The Miami bullpen did its job of holding off the Eagles, working 7.0 innings and allowing six hits and one unearned run. They combined for six strikeouts and one walk.
The BC bullpen was equal to the challenge, tossing 4.0 innings and allowing just two base runners. Junior Chris Kowalski, senior Matt O'Brien and freshman Matt Brazis combined for the performance with Kowalski throwing 2.1 and Brazis finishing the game working 1.2 innings.
Chris Hermann hit a pair of home runs on the day for Miami and drove in three runs. Jason Hagerty had a pair of hits including a two-run home run while Yasmani Grandal and Harold Martinez hit the other long balls.
For Boston College (28-19, 11-13 ACC), junior Robbie Anston went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Junior Barry Butera went 2-for-4 with a RBI triple and freshman Brad Zapenas went 2-for-3 with a run. Redshirt freshman Andrew Lawrence went 1-for-2 with a double and a pair of RBI.
BC scored three times in the bottom of the first to get ahead early. Anston led off and singled to the opposite field in left and then Lawrence took the next pitch down the line in left for a double that brought Anston all the way around to score.
Junior Tony Sanchez delivered another double when he roped a 3-1 offering to the wall in left to put the Eagles on top, 2-0. Butera didn't want the inning to end and with two outs, hit the wall in right-center for a triple and BC's third run.
The Eagles added another run in the second to build their lead to four. Sophomore Mike Sudol led off with a single and Zapenas moved him into scoring position with a sac bunt. Anston dropped a single in front of the left fielder to put runners on the corners and then Lawrence used a sac fly to center to score Sudol from third and increase the advantage to 4-0.
Miami tied the game up in a hurry in the top of the fourth after sophomore John Leonard was nearly unhittable through his first three innings. The Hurricanes got the four runs thanks to three-straight homers. Hermann got the inning going when he sent a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run homer to cut the BC lead in half, 4-2.
Grandal followed suit in the next at-bat, powering a 1-0 offering to the deepest part of the park in center. Harold Martinez then got in on the action when he pulled an 0-1 pitch out of the park to left to tie the game, 4-4.
Leonard had retired the first eight batters of the game and 10 of the first 11 before giving up the four runs in the inning. He had four strikeouts in that span with three of them looking.
BC recovered and regained its lead in the bottom half of the inning though. Zapenas sent a pitch back up the middle for a single to leadoff and with one out, Lawrence reached on an error that put runners on the corners. Michael Rudman then uncorked a wild pitch on his next delivery to the plate and Zapenas scored easily to give BC the lead back, 5-4.
Miami responded with another spell of consecutive home runs in the top of the fifth to claim the lead for good. Hagerty put a drive into a 2-2 pitch with a runner on third that left the yard in right field and then Hermann hit his second homer of the day on the next at-bat, sending one down the line in left to put Miami up 7-5.
The Eagles had their chances but left the bases loaded in the sixth and stranded a total of 10 runners in the game to Miami's three.
The series concludes on Sunday when the two teams meet at noon at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field.
